Confocal Core for the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The high-resolution microscopes at Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology Microscopy Core are used primarily by researchers at Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology (LCMB). All the Principal Investigators in LCMB have projects that involve the Core facility. Dr. Lawrence Samelson uses Core resources for the project "Biochemical basis of T cell activation". Dr. Paul Randazzo has made use of the Core for the projects "Regulation of focal adhesions" and "Turnover of invadopodia". Dr. Stavroula Mili has used Core instruments for the project "Regulation and functions of localized RNAs". Dr. Ying Zhang uses Core instruments for the project "Molecular mechanisms of TGF-beta signaling pathways". Dr. Ramiro Iglesias-Bartolome uses Core instruments for two projects, "Signaling pathways regulating stem cell fate decisions" and "G-protein-coupled receptor signaling in cancer development and treatment". Dr. Roberto Weigert used Core instruments for his work in Intravital confocal microscopy. Dr. Andres Lebensohn used the core microscopes for studying the "WNT pathways" and other cancer cell signaling systems that control pattern and morphogenesis. Apart from these researchers, the Core has been used by scientists from the Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology of the National Cancer Institute, the Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression of the National Cancer Institute, the Cancer and Inflammation Program of the National Cancer Institute, the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Department of Laboratory Medicine of the NIH Clinical Center, and The University of Maryland Department of Physics. The most used microscope at the core is the Leica SP8 laser scanning confocal microscope, which is used primarily for viewing immunofluorescent staining on fixed and live cell samples. This microscope also has a module for life-time imaging attached, which is used for Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) and Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) applications. The Nikon spinning disk microscope is routinely used for simultaneous 3-color confocal imaging as well as intravital imaging in live animals. This microscope was recently updated with 3 ultra-low-noise Hamamatsu sCMOS camera on its detection arm. We also have a Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscope, which is used for imaging experiments like observing kinetics of signaling complex formation in T cells. The TIRF microscope is also equipped with an NSTORM module, which is used for Single Molecule Localization Microscopy, generating super-resolution fluorescence images with sub-50nm lateral resolution. The LCMB Core also have resources for analyzing and quantifying image data. Core personnel also provide information on new imaging technologies for NCI researchers.